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C1. Ramada Demonstrates Its Personal Best

In 1996 the latest D. K. Shifflet survey of customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry showed
mid-tier hotels continuing their downward trend in perceived customer service, reflected by more
and more respondents giving ratings on customer service in the 7 or lower range on Shifflet’s
10-point scale. While Ramada’s satisfaction rates held steady, “It was only a matter of time before
we experienced the problem,” says Tim Pigsley, director of operations for Ramada Franchise
Systems (RFS). Shifflet research highlighted three critical areas for study that could influence
customer satisfaction: hiring (finding the best people to deliver Ramada’s brand of exceptional
service), training (giving employees the tools to deliver exceptional service), and motivation
(providing the impetus for Ramada employees to deliver exceptional service).

Unlike some of its competitors, RFS is a totally franchised system. In such an environment, not
only must headquarters contend with the variable human factor of all service operations, but
additionally, RFS must contend with differing “exceptional service” standards among owners of
the nearly 900 Ramada properties. “Due to the franchised system of property management, we
needed for each management team and each employee to be committed to the change—to buy in
to any new program—whatever shape it would take,” explains Pigsley.

“We wanted to learn and borrow from the best so we started with Disney. In every study done, the
Disney experience is the benchmark for exceptional customer service. And they have a reputation
for hiring the best people.” Next, RFS approached Southwest Airlines. “They have captured the
essence of ‘fun’ when air travel is seen as a commodity, a hassle. People disembarking Southwest
planes have smiles on their faces,” shares Pigsley. Next Ramada’s fact-finders approached Carlson
Hospitality, owners of restaurant TGI Friday’s. “We wanted to understand what Carlson did to
generate their low employee turnover, and high employee loyalty and commitment.”

Ramada’s individual property owners do their own hiring. The process differs widely from
property to property. Ramada called on research firm Predictive Index to identify characteristics
that were indicative of self-motivated performers. Ramada also brought in American Hotel and
Motel Educational Institute to learn what other companies were doing correctly to identify and
hire the right people.

RFS also wanted direct, face-to-face employee input into the process of developing new programs
in hiring, training, and motivation. “But this was a daunting prospect with more than 31,000
employees, many of whom spoke a language other than English,” explains Pigsley. Twenty-four
researchers spanned out to visit each of Ramada’s 900 properties within a six-month period. “To
bring about change in corporate culture and mindset would take more than employees checking
off boxes on a piece of paper,” claims Pigsley. So, Ramada launched the research project more
like the opening of a new hotel—a festive atmosphere, complete with food and comedic
entertainment. Headquarters staff arrived at each property, usually spending the morning
extracting issues and information from management. Then in an atmosphere evocative of a new
hotel launch, employees were invited to share their ideas and concerns about the three initiatives.
Employee suggestions and needs flowed as freely as the food and beverages. The information
collection team recorded employee and management input on a detailed summary form generated
for each property.

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Research with employees revealed the current training approach was boring and ineffective. Most
training involved videotapes, developed internally or purchased, with new hires or groups of
employees watching the videos. RFS’s benchmarking research with the hospitality industry’s
stellar examples of exceptional customer satisfaction, however, demonstrated that training
incorporating high employee involvement generates more knowledgeable employees, one of the
critical elements of customers’ perceptions of higher quality customer service. And training
approaches that involve “fun” are winners with all employees—no matter what position they fill—
and are more likely to generate a positive employee attitude, a second critical element of
exceptional customer service.

It was standard industry practice for employee motivation programs to develop around a limited
number of big-ticket rewards. Employees indicated that they had a hard time maintaining
enthusiasm for a program that took too much effort to achieve one or a limited number of rewards
over a long time. RFS found that more numerous awards that directly affect their everyday lives
motivate employees.

Before Ramada started on its program of change, it knew it would need to document the
program’s success. So, it hired Unifocus to conduct in-depth guest surveys at every property as the
Personal Best program rolled out. Additionally, it continues to subscribe to D. K. Shifflet’s
syndicated research on customer satisfaction.

In hiring, Ramada property managers now screen prospective employees for characteristics
revealed by Predictive Index. RFS scrapped its traditional training, replacing it with interactive,
CD-based, multimedia training. Self-paced learning now drives the lighthearted, 24-component
training sequence. Property managers, who often do not hire large numbers of employees at any
one time, are pleased with the more flexible approach and employees find the process more
interesting.

The newly devised motivation program focuses on rewarding employees, not only for exceptional
performance reflected in customer letters and surveys, but also for supervisor and peer
nominations, completion of training modules, and continued selfdirected efforts for personal
development by employees. “We had had grandiose ideas of awarding big-ticket items like airline
tickets to the vacation of a lifetime, but after listening to employees, we substituted certificates for
shoes at FootLocker, lunch at Macaroni Grill, and free tanks of gas. We literally have hundreds of
reward partners in the Personal Best program,” reveals Pigsley, “all related to the way our 31,000
employees spend their personal time.”

By many standards the Personal Best initiative is a success.

• In the latest D. K. Shifflet service ratings, Ramada’s scores in the 8–10 range (good to
exceptional) were up 30.5 percent, and its scores in the 1–4 range (unacceptable to poor) were
down 24 percent.

• Employees are cashing in exceptional service points for a growing number of rewards each year.

• Personal Best is no longer just a human resources program but an overall strategic planning
initiative. Employees’ stories of exceptional customer service are prominently reflected in
Ramada’s advertising, and RFS has committed $8 million over the past three years to sharing

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these stories.

“Ramada’s Personal Best hospitality advertising campaign (winner of the travel industry’s most
prestigious advertising award: HSMAI’s Best of Show) is a reflection of our commitment to the
employee of Ramada franchises,” says Steve Belmonte, president and CEO of RFS, Inc. One
spot’s closing line, “At Ramada, we throw ourselves into our work,” sums up the effort that
Ramada is placing on customer satisfaction—an effort that won it the 1999 American Express
“Best Practice” award.

Question:

1. What were the management problems and research objectives (management-research question
hierarchy) of Ramada?

a. Why did Tim Pigsley start this research for Ramada?

b. Why was the research focused on human resource management instead of service quality?

c. Why was the research furtherly focused on hiring, training, and motivation of their employees?

2. How were the research findings reflected in the ultimate management decisions?

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C2. Observational studies

Assume you are the manufacturer of modular office systems and furniture as well as office
organization elements (desktop and wall organizers, filing systems, etc.). Your company has been
asked to propose an observational study to examine the use of office study space by white-collar
and managerial workers for a large insurance company. This study will be part of a project to
improve office efficiency and paperwork flow. It is expected to involve the redesign of office
space and the purchase of new office furniture and organization elements.

1. What are the varieties of information that might be observed?

2. Select a limited number of content areas for study, and operationally define the observation
acts that should measured.

3. Develop a checklist to be used by observers in the previous study.

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C3. TRANSIT DISPLAY ADVERTISING INC.

EXPERIMENT IN TRANSIT ADVERTISING

Transit Display Advertising, Inc.(TDA) specializes in outdoor advertising, especially transit ads
on cabs and buses. TDA works in two separate capacities:1) it designs and places advertising for
clients and 2) it represents a number of metropolitan taxi and bus companies in selling advertising
space to other advertisers.

Bob Martin was the general manager for Florida of TDA. A former general manager for several
South Florida radio stations, Martin had always been bothered that he had difficulty in showing
the effectiveness of bus ads compared to other media. In radio, for example, advertising research
was often conducted to show the media’s effectiveness in reaching various demographic targets.
As Martin often said, “I’ve been in radio all of my life, and I’m used to numbers.”

The Research Project

Martin was familiar with effectiveness studies which were conducted for billboard advertising.
Some used a before/after interview technique for specific test billboards in certain locations.
Martin decided to adapt this research technique to bus advertising. Basically, he planned to first
determine people’s awareness or knowledge of a subject, run ads on buses for a specified period of
time, and then determine their awareness after the campaign. The positive change would show
how bus advertising could be effectively utilized.

Rather than use a product or an advertising slogan for the test, Martin went to an encyclopedia and
searched for a suitable subject. He thought that it would be good to use something unambiguous
and simple, such as questions concerning world capitals or history. Martin turned to the section on
American presidents and found his answer. Martin commissioned Advanced Market Research
(AMR) to conduct telephone interviews in the Miami area with persons eighteen or older, in
category groups which reflected the general population breakdown in that area. In addition to
pinpointing the demographics, AMR was to ask two questions: “Who was the 30th President of
the U.S.” and, “Who was Eisenhower’s vice-president?” The first (Calvin Coolidge) was Martin’s
test question and the second (Richard Nixon) was a control question.

Pre-Test Results
In June AMR interviewed 1,524 persons ages eighteen and older. Roughly four percent of the
persons interviewed knew that Coolidge was the 30th President. About twenty-six percent knew
that Nixon was the correct answer to the other question.

Next, Martin placed a somewhat cryptic twelve-foot long banner on 130 buses in the greater
Miami area in early July. It read, “Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the U.S.” (See Exhibit1)
Within a few days after the “ads” were put on buses, however, the local media gave the story
extensive coverage. Stories, including pictures of the buses, appeared in local newspapers on the
front page. Several television stations also picked up the story. Concerned about the immediate

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impact of the media coverage on the test, Martin commissioned AMR to do an intermediate study
covering the last two weeks of July. AMR found that the results had not changed significantly. As
Martin explained, “Either people didn’t read the papers or watch TV, or they forgot about it right
away.” The Coolidge message was left on the buses for about six weeks.

Post-Test Results
In late August, AMR interviewed 1,184 persons asking the same questions. Among men, those
knowing that Coolidge was the 30th U.S. President had increased form 4.3 percent to 13.2 percent.
Among those 18 to 34, the percentage increased from 0.4 to 9.8. The most impressive gain was
among men ages 35 to 54. That figure went form 1.4 percent to 16.3 percent two months later.
Among all women, there was a 100 percent increase, going from 3.6 to 7.1 percent. Among
females eighteen to thirty-four, the results went form 0.7 percent to 6.1 percent. In the thirty-five
to forty-four group, the pre-ad result was 1.7 percent versus 7.0 afterward. The percentage of
correct answers in the fifty-five plus category dropped from 4.2 percent to 2.8 percent.

Overall Results
Inexplicably, the results of the control question also increased from 25.6 percent overall to 37.3
percent. Martin had overlooked the fact that it had been the fifth anniversary of the Watergate
affair and that Richard Nixon’s name had frequently been in the news lately.
Overall, Martin was pleased with the results. Now, he was prepared to present quantitative
evidence of the effectiveness of transit advertising. He was quoted as saying that the project “has
been about as successful as I could wish it to be. It has really raised our level of believability.”

Questions
1. What were the independent and dependent variable in this experiment?

2. What major factors could affect the validity of this test?

3. How could you explain the reduction in correct recall among older women?

4. Overall, do you agree with Martin concerning the believability of the results?

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C4. Amos Brown Chevrolet of Reno

The Amos Brown Chevrolet dealership, located in Reno, Nevada, wanted to know how
people who intended to buy a new American-made automobile in the next 12 months view their
purchase. The owner, Amos Brown, called the marketing department at the University of
Nevada-Reno and arranged for a class project to be taken by Professor Thomas Clary’s
undergraduate marketing research students. Professor Clary had a large class that semester, so he
decided to divide the project into two groups and to have each group compete against the other to
see which one designed and executed the better survey.

Both groups worked diligently on the survey over the semester. They met with Mr. Brown,
discussed the dealership with his managers, conducted focus groups, and consulted the literature
on brand, store, and company image research. Both teams conducted telephone surveys, whose
findings are presented in their final reports.

Professor Clary offered to grant extra credit to each team if it gave a formal presentation of
its research design, findings, and recommendations.

1. What interview questions were asked by each of the two teams to reach their findings
in the following figures? What measurement scale did they use respectively?
Nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio scale?

2. Contrast the different ways these finding can be presented in graphical form to the
Amos Brown Dealership management group. Which student team has the ability to
present its findings more effectively? How and why?

3. What are the managerial implications apparent in each team’s findings? Identify the
implications and recommendations for Amos Brown Chevrolet as they are evident in
each team’s findings.

Findings of Professor Clary’s Marketing Research Teams

Team One’s Finding for Amos Brown Chevrolet

IMPORTANCE OF FEATURES OF DEALERSHIP IN DECIDING TO BUY THERE
Feature Percent
Competitive prices 86%
No high pressure 75%
Good service facilities 73%
Low-cost financing 68%
Many models in stock 43%
Convenient location 35%
Friendly salespersons 32%

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IMAGE OF AMOS BROWN CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP: PERCENT RESPONDING “YES”

Competitive prices 45%
No high pressure 32%
Good service facilities 80%
Low-cost financing 78%
Many models in stock 50%
Convenient location 81%
Friendly salespersons 20%

Team Two’s Findings for Amos Brown Chevrolet

Feature Importance*a Rating*b
Competitive prices 6.5 1.3
No high pressure 6.2 3.6
Good service facilities 5.0 4.3
Low-cost financing 4.7 3.9
Many models in stock 3.1 3.0
Convenient location 2.2 4.1
Friendly salespersons 2.0 1.2
IMPORTANCE AND IMAGE OF AMOS BROWN CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP
a Based on a seven-point scale where 1 = unimportant and 7= extremely important
b Based on a five-point scale where 1= poor and 5= excellent performance

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C5. Can This Study Be Saved?

“What’s troubling me is that you can’t just pick a new random sample just because somebody
didn’t like the results of the first survey. Please tell me more about what’s been done.” Your voice
is clear and steady, trying to discover what actually happened and, hopefully, to identify some
useful information without the additional expense of a new survey.

“It’s not that we didn’t like the results of the first survey,” responded R. L. Steegmans, “it’s that
only 54 percent of the membership responded. We hadn’t even looked at their planned spending
when the decision (to sample again) was made. Since we had (naively) planned on receiving
answers from nearly all of the 400 people initially selected, we chose 200 more at random and
surveyed them also. That’s the second sample.” At this point, sensing that there’s more to the
story, you simply respond, “Uh huh . . .” Sure enough, more follows:

“Then E. S. Eldredge had this great idea of following up on those who didn’t respond. We sent
them another whole questionnaire, together with a crisp dollar and a letter telling them how
important their responses are to the planning of the industry. Worked pretty well. Then, of course,
we had to follow up the second sample as well.” “Let me see if I understand,” you reply. “You
have two samples: one of 400 people and one of 200. For each, you have the initial responses and
follow-up responses. Is that it?” “Well, yes, but there was also the pilot study—12 people in
offices downstairs and across the street. We’d like to include them, average them, with the rest
because we worked so hard on that at the start, and it seems a shame to throw them away. But all
we really want to know is average spending to within about a hundred dollars.”

At this point, you feel that you have enough of the background information to evaluate
the situation and to either recommend an estimate or an additional survey. Exhibit
C-CAN 1–1 offers additional details for the survey of the 8,391 overall membership in
order to determine planned spending over the next quarter.

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EXHIBIT C-CAN 1–1 Methodology Details

QUESTION：
1. Was drawing a second sample a good idea? Explain.
2. Were the follow-up mailings a good idea? Explain.
3. Which of the results are useful? Are these data sufficient to solve the management dilemma or
is further study needed?

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C6. Healthy Lifestyles

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, is the government
agency responsible for disease-related issues in the United States. The CDC coordinates efforts to
counteract outbreaks of diseases and funds a variety of medical and health research studies. The
CDC also serves as a central clearinghouse for health-related data.

The CDC conducts the annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. The survey measures a
whole series of lifestyle characteristics that relate to health and longevity, such as smoking and use
of seat belts. The survey compiles data on a stateby-state basis. Not all states are surveyed.
The data set from the 1990 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey is on the accompanying
CD in the file named HEALTHY. All numbers are percentages, and asterisks indicate the missing
data for that state.

Your task is to prepare a summary of these data. Your report is to be issued to major news
organizations, such as the Associated Press, and will appear in major newspapers around the
United States. For this reason, it would be inappropriate to use technical jargon in your report.
Your boss has suggested a few general ideas about what is likely to appeal to your target audience.
As you study the data, you might find other things worth including.

Questions
1. Report any interesting (i.e., unexpected, humorous, or odd) differences between states.
2. Devise a weighted index of all seven lifestyle variables. The weighted index is to serve as an
overall or composite measure of healthy lifestyles. Apply your weight to the states of Minnesota,
Florida, and California as an example of what your weighted index shows.
3. Discuss any noteworthy limitations of the survey or data set.

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C7. Violence on TV
As the general manager of KTDS, the NBC affiliate in Tidusville, Oklahoma, Chris has a range of
responsibilities that include programming, personnel, advertising, and public relations. His least
favorite activity is responding to customer complaints. Unfortunately, there’s been an unusually
large number of complaints in the past few months from viewers and advertisers alike.

Most of the recent comments are objections to the level of violence on KTDS programs. Chris is
sensitive to this issue because he has observed a gradual increase in violence on TV over the past
20 years. Chris really prefers the old-time movies in which dirty deeds were neatly sanitized and
violent crimes occurred behind the scenes. He is sympathetic to the recent callers.

Nonetheless, he’s in a tight spot. Chris knows that small, vocal groups do not necessarily represent
the population at large. People who feel strongly about an issue are likely to speak out, while those
who are content tend to remain silent. While the recent callers have denounced the level of
violence on KTDS shows, Chris knows he must understand and serve all of the KTDS viewers.

Chris has a suspicion about the source of the recent calls. Four months ago, a flamboyant
politician announced his candidacy for mayor. This candidate has received a great deal of air time
on the local news due, in part, to his impassioned outbursts. Some people love him, others despise
him, but almost everyone tunes in to the evening news in hopes of catching the latest controversy.
One continuing theme of his platform is violence in America in general and violence on KTDS in
particular. Over the past four months, the candidate has suggested that those opposed to violence
in the media “let their voices be heard.” Chris suspects that this fellow has inspired a large portion
of the recent complaints to KTDS.

Chris needs to sort all of this out. To understand the views of all KTDS patrons, he has
commissioned you to undertake an opinion poll. A survey has been designed, and 94 telephone
survey responses have been compiled. The results of the survey reside in the file named
VIOLENCE on the accompanying CD and the actual survey included in this case. You’ll need a
copy of the survey to understand the numerical codings in the data set.

The survey design and data set compilation were undertaken by Ann Lee Bailey, an MBA student
at the University of Colorado at Denver. The scenario has been altered to preserve the anonymity
of the survey respondents.

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The survey was done over a three-week period in October. Two hundred phone calls were made,
and 106 people declined the invitation to participate in the survey. Of the 94 participating
respondents, 2 were offended by the question of income and refused to answer that particular
question. Nonresponses are indicated in the data set by an asterisk. A random selection of phone
numbers from the Tidusville phone book was used to select the sample. Chris needs a report as
soon as possible.

Violence on TV Survey
1. Gender (0) male (1) female
2. Age (1) under 20 (2) 20–30 (3) 31–40 (4) 41–50 (5) over 50
3. Marital status (0) married (1) single or divorced
4. Do you have children at home? (0) yes (1) no
5. Household income
(1) under $20,000 (2) $20,000–$40,000 (3) $40,00–$60,000 (4) over $60,000
6. Education
(1) high school (2) some college (3) college graduate (4) graduate school
7. How many hours per week do you watch TV?
(1) 0–7 (2) 8–14 (3) 15–21 (4) 22–28 (5) 29–35 (6) 36–42 (7) 43 or more
8. In your opinion, how violent are most TV programs?
(1) much too violent (2) somewhat too violent (3) violent
(4) a little violent (5) not very violent

Questions
1. What is Tidusville’s perception of the level of violence on KTDS?
2. Does one’s perception of violence on TV vary with gender, age, marital status, income, or
education?
3. Do parents with children at home have a different tolerance for violence than those without
children at home?
4. Do viewers who spend a lot of time watching TV become desensitized to violence?

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